KINDA QUIET: You won’t hear about Orange...

KINDA QUIET: You won’t hear about Orange County’s two major men’s basketball teams in national previews. UC Irvine is picked to finish no higher than sixth in the Big West Conference, and Cal State Fullerton is a consensus 10th and last. Irvine lacks shooting and will rely on defense. “I’m back to the point where I don’t care if these guys like me,” Coach Rod Baker said. “My responsibility is to put them in a position to win games.” . . . Fullerton just wants to get acquainted; only two players return from last season. “We have to be very patient,” Coach Brad Holland says. Irvine opens at home Nov. 26, Fullerton at Wyoming Dec. 4.

SHOOT! If the men’s college game looks more like the pros, don’t be surprised. Because of a new rule, a shot must now be taken within 35 seconds (down from 45), which could hurt deliberate teams. The National Basketball Assn. uses a 24-second clock. . . . Fullerton Coach Holland doesn’t think the change was necessary. “I don’t think we should in any way make the game closer to the NBA. The college game is exciting as it stands.”

TRAKH RECORD: The Pepperdine women’s program has a key newcomer: Mark Trakh takes over as coach after 13 years at Brea-Olinda, where his girls’ teams won four state championships, six Southern Section titles and 11 consecutive league championships. Trakh feels like a laboratory rat. “I want to get this first season under my belt so I know what to expect next year,” he said. “It’s going to be a little different than high school. Every game is going to be like the state championship. I guess fear is a good motivator.”

THE PROGRAM: Want to see the closest thing to a sure winner? Year after year, the best local basketball can be found at Cypress Community College, where Don Johnson is the state’s all-time winningest men’s community college coach. Now in his 27th season, Johnson compiled a 573-240 record, winning 70.5% of the games in his first 26. . . . Johnson steadfastly refuses credit, citing his assistants, “plus a wonderful array of outstanding young men far too numerous to mention.”